Noticings

I step into each day with … well, with steps! 

The ditty on Dave's phone gently nudges us from rest to wakefulness, we move out from under the covers and make up the bed, and I dress and head outdoors into the velvet of predawn for my daily prayer walk of 5,000-6,000 steps. 

With my feet in motion, I set intentions, open my heart to listen and notice.

From there the rest of the day unfolds, with all its colors and layers and surprises and mistakes and excavations and accomplishments and inadvertencies. 

I notice where my attention is as often as I'm able.

The following passage by Myla Kabat-Zinn in Everyday Blessings catches my attention a few days ago. It is exactly what I need to hear.

My ten-year-old daughter, in bed, lights out, says to me:

“Mommy, I feel so confused.”

I reply: “What are you confused about?”

She says: “I don’t know, I just feel confused.”

I struggle with my urge to make it better … “It’s okay to feel confused.”

She says: “It is?”

I say: “Yes, it is.”

Phone Conversation on a Snow Day
4 x 5.5" postcard; acrylic, collage, and oil pastel
on card stock
abstract
2022